Physiologically speaking, our bodies are miracles of growth and healing. When we get a cut on our finger, the white blood cells in our body rush to the site to increase cell production and heal the injury. This is a simple metaphor for community, right? The advanced science of our physical make-up is often relatable to the needs we have as humans with a complex mind, heart, and spirit.
During this pandemic and urgent awakenings for justice, we are all being stretched. My 15-year old has been creative in his expansion of his music talents, his puzzle-assembly skills and his heightened interest in the muscle tone of his teenage physique. He wants to be cut. Ripped. I catch him testing the growth and visibility of his biceps, triceps, and the soon-to-be 6-pack abs.
My husband has been in physical therapy since his June 2nd bilateral knee replacement surgery. Yep – both knees. He is now a walking miracle of science and God’s gifts.
Steve spent 14 days in a hospital bed in our downstairs office; in the dark, cool, quiet healing place. For a few weeks after arriving home, we (yes, we) were in high-intensity post-op recovery and starting the process to rebuild his legs carrying new knees. He now must strengthen muscles that have been over-compensating and underused for three decades. He needs to build up the muscular support for these new titanium/chrome devices or they will fail.
The human body is created to grow by itty-bitty cells constantly multiplying and rejuvenating. And when our genetic make-up is at its fully grown state (i.e. older), we need to grow by creating challenges for our muscles. Strain and damage. We must shred our muscle tissue to force them to rebuild and become stronger.
According to NerdFitness.com
When you lift an object … enough times, your muscles reach the point of failure. This causes your muscles to tear and breakdown.
When your muscle rebuilds itself following the workout, it’ll be bigger and stronger than before. Then you do it again.
And again.
And again.
The pandemic and the tension of the racial justice awakening is making us all stronger. Everything is shredding — and that’s how we grow. We will come through this with a greater sense of the preciousness of life, balance and priorities. We will be forced to heal from this shredding and we will become more able to love from a place of gratitude, inner strength and shared understanding that we’ve endured something difficult together. And we will decide to be better people from now on because we choose to honor another’s sensitivities that we don’t understand. We have much to heal on many levels, and every person we encounter is on their own journey of that healing. Every person.
We can start with love, and continue with hope, because of our faith. I lean into the struggle because I know it’s making me more able to hear. I am hopeful that our shredded structures are going to rejuvenate in ways that are stronger and healthier. And while I know that there will be more shredding in years ahead, I have faith that each year we are stronger because we have healed and grown.
